© 2004 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
Maturation of Newfoundland American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides): long-term trends in maturation reaction norms despite low fishing mortality?
a Adaptive Dynamics Network, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
b IRD-LEST 32 Avenue H. Varagnat, F-93143 Bondy, France
c Institute of Marine Research PO Box 1870 Nordnes, N-5817 Bergen, Norway
d Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, Department of Fisheries and Oceans PO Box 5667, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada A1C 5X1
*Correspondence to S. Barot: IRD-LEST, 32 Avenue H. Varagnat, F-93143 Bondy, France. Tel: +33 01 48 025501; fax: +33 01 41 025970. e-mail: Sebastien.Barot{at}bondy.ird.fr.
To interpret long-term trends in age and size at maturation, new statistical methods have recently been devised for estimating probabilistic maturation reaction norms based on data collected for the management of fisheries. Here we apply these methods to three Newfoundland stocks of American plaice (NAFO Divisions 2J3K, 3LNO, 3Ps) and report a clear long-term shift in the maturation reaction norms of these stocks towards maturation at younger age and smaller size. Theory predicts that such trends could result from fishing acting as a selective force, inducing evolutionary changes in the life histories of exploited populations. Matching long-term trends in maturation reactions norms have already been documented for several stocks that have experienced high fishing pressures (Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank cod, Northeast Arctic cod, North Sea plaice). Our results add a new dimension to these earlier findings: since fishing pressures for two stocks of Newfoundland plaice (2J3K and 3Ps) have been relatively low, our results imply that fishing is likely to result in the evolution of life histories even when fishing mortality is low, or that natural mortality has played an important role in determining selective pressures in these populations. Both options suggest that conditions for rapid life-history evolution in exploited stocks are less restrictive than previously appreciated.
Keywords: American plaice, logistic regression, maturation dynamics, maturity ogive, probability of maturing, reaction norm
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